Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $22.08 Million Position in Fastenal Company $FAST

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 475,803 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,072 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $22,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fastenal by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Fastenal by 78.6% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,154,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,576,000 after buying an additional 508,052 shares during the period. Dickmeyer Boyce Financial Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fastenal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $861,000. Gibbs Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Fastenal in the 1st quarter valued at $264,000. Finally, Wiregrass Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Fastenal by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Wiregrass Investment Management LLC now owns 27,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Fastenal Trading Up 1.9%

FAST stock opened at $47.02 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.18 and a quick ratio of 2.21. Fastenal Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.97 and a fifty-two week high of $50.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Fastenal had a return on equity of 34.03% and a net margin of 15.45%.The business’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Fastenal’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 28th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Fastenal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Fastenal from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Fastenal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Fastenal from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Fastenal in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.83.

Fastenal Company Profile

Fastenal (NASDAQ: FAST) is a wholesale distributor of industrial and construction supplies, best known for its broad assortment of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, screws and anchors. Founded in Winona, Minnesota, Fastenal has grown from a regional supplier into a national and international distributor serving a wide range of end markets, including manufacturing, construction, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), and government customers. The company is publicly traded and operates through a network of locally staffed branches combined with national distribution capabilities.

Product offerings extend beyond fasteners to include tools, safety and personal protective equipment, power transmission components, cutting and welding supplies, janitorial and material handling items, and other industrial consumables.